Fairfield man, two others convicted in triple homicide

HAYWARD -- An Alameda County jury on Thursday convicted three alleged gang murders of multiple counts of murder and attempted murder in connection with an ambush shooting outside a San Leandro warehouse party in 2011.

Paul Stevenson, 22, and Anthony Perry, 23, both of Oakland, and Aaron Stewart, 21, of Fairfield, each face life in prison without the possibility of parole at their sentencing scheduled for July 10.

Prosecutor Jimmie Wilson said the three members of an Oakland gang sneaked up on an SUV containing seven young people after a "tattoo party" early Oct. 2, 2011 and started firing at the trapped victims.

Joshua Alford, 23, of Oakland, Shanice Kiel, 19, of San Francisco, and Leneasha Northington, 16, of San Leandro, were killed, and three of their friends were wounded.

According to trial testimony, Alford was the target of the shooting because he was affiliated with a rival gang that got into a confrontation with the defendants and their friends at a San Francisco party a few weeks earlier.

Alford was not part of the confrontation, nor did he have any contact with the defendants after they spotted him in the San Leandro party.

The prosecution presented eyewitnesses who placed all three defendants around the SUV with guns in hand, and witnesses who testified that they heard the defendants admit to the shootings. Perry and Stevenson fired off several rounds at the victims, while Stewart got off no shots because his gun jammed, according to Wilson.

Defense attorneys argued that each of their clients did not participate in the shooting and that many of the witnesses had a motive to lie. Attorneys in the case could not be immediately reached for comment.